Why is the Vatican Christmas Tree Opposed?

40,000 Signatures Opposing Logging Due to Environmental Destruction and Other Reasons

Voices opposing the logging of this year’s Christmas tree in the Vatican are growing louder.

On the 12th, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing ANSA, that as the Vatican decided to cut down a fir tree to use as the Christmas tree, opposition to the logging has increased due to concerns about environmental destruction. The fir tree in question is known to be 200 years old and 30 meters tall, located in the Val di Ledro forest in the Trentino region of northern Italy.

Christmas tree installed last year at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Photo by UPI and Yonhap News Agency

A petition against the logging of this tree, nicknamed the "Green Giant," was posted on the world’s largest petition site, change.org. As of the 11th (local time), more than 40,000 people had signed the petition.

The petition references Pope Francis’s 2015 ecological encyclical, Laudato Si'. The encyclical states, "The goods of the earth given by God are being damaged by our irresponsible use and abuse, and the earth is groaning," and "We must acknowledge the serious harm done to the natural environment as if we had the right to plunder it at will, and that transforming and destroying all creatures created by God is a sin against God."

The petition calls for "a clear and transparent message to change the approach toward respecting nature at this historic moment of rapid climate change." It also states, "The Christmas tree is a pagan tradition," and opposes "the purely consumerist practice of using a living tree for a temporary purpose, for mere advertising and a few ridiculous selfies."

Christmas tree in front of the Italian Unification Memorial Hall. (This photo is not directly related to the article.) Pixabay

The petition further argues that the 60,000 euros (about 90 million KRW) spent on logging and transporting the fir tree for the Vatican’s Christmas tree should be used more valuably for the public good. It also suggests that recycling wood from trees fallen due to climate change to create a permanent Christmas tree could be an alternative.

In response to the petition, the authorities in the Ledro area explained that the fir tree to be logged is within a site where logging is necessary for the forest’s sustainability. They also clarified that the tree is not donated to the Vatican but will be processed into lumber at a sawmill after the Christmas tree display ends, countering claims that it is consumed as a one-time use.

Meanwhile, the Vatican has maintained the tradition of installing a Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square since 1982, during the papacy of John Paul II.